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It’s starting to be peak season for four-legged food thieves, says Didrik Vanhoenacker, a biologist on duty at the Swedish Museum of Natural History. Now forest mice are beginning to enter farmhouses and cabins. Animals seek shelter in houses, and one centimeter of space is enough for them to enter.
– It is more comfortable to live in a house than outdoors, and if there is no cat in the house, the risk of being eaten by another animal decreases. If there is access to food in the house, it is appreciated, and if there are no acorns outside, it is easier to find food inside, says Didrik Vanhoenacker.
Anticimex has also noticed that problems with mice are increasing. Last week, the company increased mouse decontamination by 64 percent, compared to early September, they say in a press release. Mice can create problems by gnawing on most things and building passages in wall insulation. If they gnaw on power lines, there is a risk of a short circuit and, in the worst case, a fire can occur.
Lots of snow good for mice
An unusual number of mouse infestations occurred in early 2020 and last fall, explained by the large number of acorns from the previous year. The four-legged creatures were thus able to collect food to a greater extent. Didrik Vanhoenacker can’t answer what the mouse population is like this year, but several factors come into play.
– The hardest thing for mice is a cold winter without snow. During a cold winter with lots of snow, it can get quite hot and take shelter under the snow. But during a very cold winter without snow, it is very cold on the ground, he says.
Owls know
Access to acorns is also important, and how many there will be depends, among other things, on the conditions of the previous year. But it is seldom several years in a row rich in acorns – the trees stand out.
– There were a lot of acorns in 2018 and a lot of beech acorns last winter. Huge numbers of finches wintered in Skåne’s beech forests and ate beech acorns, says Didrik Vanhoenacker.
One way to guess where there might be a lot of mice is to look for owls.
– Owls choose to nest in places where there is good access to mice. In places where there have been many barn owls and barn owls, you might think there were at least a lot of mice this spring.
Sofia Sundström / TT
Outside:
Well visible holes in the foundation of the house and the valves, preferably with a metal mesh that has a mesh size of no more than 5 millimeters and a wire thickness of at least 0.7 millimeters.
Do not pile firewood, garden furniture or other debris next to the facade.
Make sure the grass is cut around the house.
Do not plant shrubs, vines and trees near the facade, as mice can climb on them.
Do not feed the birds as mice are attracted to the remains.
Place garbage and compost bins some distance from the house with the lid on.
Inside:
Keep your basement and attic clean, the more clutter, the more attractive the mouse habitat is.
Make sure there is no food in front of you, use a seal packaging and empty the pantry in the summer cabin
Put candles in boxes, otherwise they are rodent food.
Place mattresses and sofa cushions upright in the cold summer cabin.
Make sure the bushings, for example under the sink, are tight. Something that is often forgotten are the bushings for element pipes.
If problems are not resolved, it may be necessary to install approved mousetraps. One tip is to load the trap with something sticky like nougat instead of the classic piece of cheese. Cheese dries quickly and doesn’t attract mice as effectively.
Source: Anticimex
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